As news of the terrorist attacks in Paris spread through social media, responses followed a pattern I’ve come to know well. First, shock and grief. Friends and followers share video and pictures that are almost pornographic in their deracinated intensity. The images appear with no context, and we see only running, screaming, guns, and blood. … Continue reading »
compassion
Eight inspiring images from 2013
Many terrible things happened in 2013. But concealed within each awful event was at least some kernel of courage or grace. This past year especially provided us with many models of heroism. From the helpers of the Boston Marathon bombing to activists standing up for human rights in Bulgaria and Pakistan, 2013 gave us countless … Continue reading »
The past year’s top 10 scientific insights about living a meaningful life
The science we cover on the UC Berkeley Greater Good Science Center website — aka, “the science of a meaningful life” — has exploded over the past 10 years, with many more studies published each year on gratitude, mindfulness, and our other core themes than we saw a decade ago. 2012 was no exception. In … Continue reading »
Five lessons in human goodness from ‘The Hunger Games’
In the dystopian future world of The Hunger Games, 24 teenagers are forced to fight to the death, their battle turned into televised entertainment. This war-of-all-against-all scenario sounds as though it might reveal the worst in humanity—and to a degree, that’s true. But what raises The Hunger Games above similar stories, like the cynical Japanese … Continue reading »
Is it best to be greedy in tough economic times?
There’s a certain logic to the idea that greed is good when resources are scarce: when there’s not a lot to go around, what could be better than hogging the goods for oneself to ensure one’s survival? If this logic were to hold true, one would expect natural selection to have favored self-interested behavior as … Continue reading »